New vegan refill shop opens in St Ives in Cambridgeshire, UK

The vegan refill shop hopes to make eco-friendly and plant-based living more accessible

 

 

The Refill Shop of Ikigai, on White Hart Lane, is an essential store, selling food and household cleaning products, from a variety of local and eco suppliers.

 

Shop owner, Martin Cooper says: “Opening a vegan-friendly refill shop has been something I’ve been thinking about for a while, so when I was made redundant in November after a 20-year career, it felt like it was now or never!”

 

The former engineer set up the refill store to help people reduce the amount of plastic waste they accrue when shopping in supermarkets, as well as allowing people to buy the amount of products they need, to help reduce food waste too.

 

The word ‘ikigai’ in the shop name comes from Japan, but has no direct translation. ‘Iki’ means life and ‘gai’ means purpose or reason for being.

 

Martin adds: “I chose the shop name as it encompassed the aim to help people buy the products they use regularly, but have no way of purchasing without plastic–and generally single use plastic, such as pasta and rice.”

 

“Everything sold is vegan and is in a refillable or reusable container or a compostable and biodegradable bag – even our loyalty cards are made from seed paper and can be planted when they’re finished with!”

 

“We are all aware of the impact we are having on the planet and I hope that the Refill Shop of Ikigai will help make it easier for people to make small changes and do their bit – and find their purpose.”

 

Everything in the shop is vegan, from the milk and dandelion honey to the cleaning products and the pick and mix.

 

At the moment, the shop offers a ‘served only’ option, and numbers in the store are limited.